Abstract We present the results of optical and near-IR spectroscopic and
mid-IR imaging observations of the emission-line star MWC 300. Its
properties and evolutionary state are still under debate (a B[e]
supergiant or a Herbig Be star). For the first time we detected radial velocity
variations of the photospheric lines and found a correlation between them and
those of the He I5876 Å line. Most of the pure emission
lines had stable positions for nearly 20 years. New estimates of the
object's luminosity (
/
), distance (
kpc), and systemic velocity (
km s
-1) were derived.
We found that both the circumstellar extinction in the disk-like dusty envelope
and the interstellar extinction play a significant role in the attenuation of
the stellar brightness. Our 2D modeling of the observed spectral energy
distribution in the wavelength range from 0.3
m to 1.3 mm suggests that
the star is viewed through a gaseous-and-dusty flared disk with an opening
angle of 30°, an inclination angle of 10°, an equatorial optical
depth
, and a total mass of 0.08
.
We argue that MWC 300 is most likely a binary system, because of the similarities
of its observed parameters with those of recognized B[e] binaries.